It didn’t take Disha Dadlani, who has just finished her second year of studying for a bachelor’s degree in media and communication at Manipal University in Dubai, long to realise that there is quite a jump between classroom learning and putting what you learn into practice.
Ms Dadlani, 19, started a month-long paid internship at the Dubai PR firm Cicero & Bernay in July. When we caught up with her, she was being put through her paces: rotating between departments – getting a feel for the various nuances of doing public relations for automotive, food and beverage, and real estate clients – as well as writing press releases, conducting research and compiling media lists.
C&B has taken on interns for the past few years but this is the first year a structured programme of learning has been put in place.
“Rather than just having the interns come in on an ad hoc basis, we thought it was more beneficial for students to come into a programme that had specific rotation structures [where they can] learn a lot of the basics of PR and get a broad range of exposure,” says Ross Bethell, C&B’s director of strategy. “This really maximises what they get out of it and, for us, they are able to contribute rather than just sit there and hopefully get some work.”
Mr Bethell drew on his own experiences as in intern in Canada 20 years ago to create the scheme, and focuses on mentoring and feedback. Ms Dadlani receives a daily review of her performance from the mentor assigned to her. She also knows she can approach other senior members of staff.
“Agencies and companies have a duty … to give [students] some real world experience and see if that’s a career they want to continue,” he says.
It’s not all a one-way street. Interns also bring fresh ideas to the workplace with them, according to Mr Bethell.
“These students are really familiar with social media brands, what’s hot, what’s cool and celebrities,” he says. “So it opens your eyes to a lot of what’s hip and current right now.”
Of course, internships also allow businesses to make a thorough assessment of their temporary employee, with a view to perhaps hiring them on a full-time basis when they have completed their studies.
Internships give “us the time to observe the performance of the individuals, says Sameer Sultan Al Maskari, the head of nationalisation and business communication at Emirates NBD. “That’s a very great advantage. With the recruitment process there is only the interview and a psychometric test; there is still a high risk of taking the individual in. This is a proper assessment and it’s cost-effective for the organisation.”
Under government guidelines, banks are to increase the Emirati rate on their staff by four percentage points a year, until they reach a target of 40-45 per cent. Internships are a useful way to promote banking (not traditionally a popular career choice among young nationals) as an exciting and challenging profession and to develop a pipeline of potential future employees.
Mr Al Maskari reckons that Emirates NBD takes on between 250 and 300 trainees per year, and 15 per cent of these are former interns.
Likewise at the law firm Clyde & Co, students must demonstrate that they have ties to the Middle East or are willing to work in the region after they finish their studies to be taken on as interns. Top performers this summer will be invited to join the Clyde and Co trainee programme when they have graduated in 2017.
One trend that has emerged recently in the UAE is internships offered by tech firms specifically to boost the future employability of young Emiratis and to create a pool of qualified future employees, according to Ali Mater, the head of talent solutions at LinkedIn Mena.
“We are seeing a trend, particularly in the technology sector, for which internships can create a strong pipeline of talent,” he says. “Another approach is offering UAE nationals structured and quality internships to strengthen their competitive positioning in the job market. Some of them combine these, like the SAP Academy in Dubai, which trains both UAE nationals and other interns on ERP solutions.”
(ERP stands for enterprise resource planning, a business management software that organisations use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from a variety of activities.)
As for Ms Dadlani at C&B, her internship will help inform her choices for the area in which she will specialise next year.
“This internship is a great opportunity to decide and test the water and it’s definitely going to help me make that critical decision,” she says. “It’s been a rewarding experience on the whole – I learn something new every day and I see myself hopefully in the future working in a PR agency.”
business@thenational.ae
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBlitz%20Bazawule%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFantasia%20Barrino%2C%20Taraji%20P%20Henson%2C%20Danielle%20Brooks%2C%20Colman%20Domingo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Results
Light Flyweight (49kg): Mirzakhmedov Nodirjon (UZB) beat Daniyal Sabit (KAZ) by points 5-0.
Flyweight (52kg): Zoirov Shakhobidin (UZB) beat Amit Panghol (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (56kg): Kharkhuu Enkh-Amar (MGL) beat Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov (UZB) 3-2.
Lightweight (60kg): Erdenebat Tsendbaatar (MGL) beat Daniyal Shahbakhsh (IRI) 5-0.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Baatarsukh Chinzorig (MGL) beat Shiva Thapa (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Bobo-Usmon Baturov (UZB) beat Ablaikhan Zhussupov (KAZ) RSC round-1.
Middleweight (75kg): Jafarov Saidjamshid (UZB) beat Abilkhan Amankul (KAZ) 4-1.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Ruzmetov Dilshodbek (UZB) beat Meysam Gheshlaghi (IRI) 3-2.
Heavyweight (91kg): Sanjeet (IND) beat Vassiliy Levit (KAZ) 4-1.
Super Heavyweight ( 91kg): Jalolov Bakhodir (UZB) beat Kamshibek Kunkabayev (KAZ) 5-0.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
